Philippines court orders arrest of VP Sara Duterte over ‘assassin’ remarks targeting President’s family

A Philippine court issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Sara Duterte over three counts of grave threats involving President Marcos Jr., the first lady, and a former House Speaker

A Philippine court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Sara Duterte over three counts of grave threats involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the first lady and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, deepening a political feud between the country’s two most powerful families.The Quezon City Regional Trial Court issued the warrant and set bail at 120,000 pesos (approximately Rs 1 lakh 80 thousand) for each of the three charges, according to the court order.Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said she had no intention of evading the law and would continue to pursue all available legal remedies.The case relates to remarks Duterte made in November 2024, when she said she had spoken to an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife and Romualdez if she herself were killed. Duterte has denied threatening them.The criminal case comes as Duterte faces a separate impeachment trial before the Philippine Senate. The alleged threats are among the accusations contained in the impeachment proceedings, which also include allegations of misuse of public funds. Duterte has denied wrongdoing.Duterte’s legal team had previously challenged the criminal proceedings on jurisdictional grounds, arguing that she was a sitting impeachable official. Legal experts, however, said the criminal case and impeachment proceedings could proceed simultaneously because they involve different legal standards.The Justice Department filed the three grave-threat charges against Duterte in August after an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation. A separate inciting-to-sedition complaint was dismissed.The arrest warrant adds another major legal challenge for Duterte, who is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte and has been viewed as a potential contender in the 2028 presidential election. A conviction in the impeachment case could remove her from office and affect her political ambitions.